Three reasons why it’s World Series or bust for the Dodgers

The Los Angeles Dodgers are baseball’s best team and are so good anything short of a World Series appearance would be a disappointment.

The last time the Dodgers won the World Series was in 1988. It was also their last appearance. Winning the World Series and making it there are two completely different things. Although L.A. doesn’t have to win it all for this season to be a success, not making it to the World Series would prove to be a failure.

The Dodgers are 46 games over .500 with a .705 winning percentage at 79-33. They are the most resilient team in baseball posting come-from-behind victories time and time again. L.A. even leads the league in series sweeps with 15 on the year.

They’re on pace for 114 wins, and they are just the fourth big league team to win 43 or more over a 50-game stretch; no team has done it since 1912. The Dodgers are 57-14 since starting 22-18 and they’re 44-7 since a three-game losing streak in early June.

Timing is everything and everything’s going right for the Dodgers. It’s a combination of baseball operations, management, talent and execution that have L.A. way ahead of the competition.

But no matter how well an organization puts together a team or how well a team is managed, winning comes down to the players on the field. The Dodgers are a deep team with a talented roster that never misses a beat.

L.A.’s players are having amazing individual seasons that combined have equaled a historic year for the Dodgers. Here are three reasons why L.A.’s incredible run must take them to the World Series in order for the season to be a success.